The Detroit News reported that Toyota’s top executive in the United States said that the company was reviewing its entire operation here, including whether to close a factory in California and when to open a factory in Mississippi.

In an hour-long interview with reporters at Toyota’s Washington office, Yoshimi Inaba said Toyota is not profitable in North America despite cost cutting in the organization.But he said he hopes the company could be profitable in its next fiscal year in North America.

Inaba, who is president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor America and chairman and CEO of Toyota Motor Sales USA, is taking up his responsibilities at a crucial time for the Japanese automaker. Toyota’s sales have fallen 38 percent in the first six months of the year — to 770,000 cars and trucks from nearly 1.25 million vehicles in the first six months of 2008. U.S. industry auto sales fell 35 percent in the first half of the year.

When Toyota starts talking about closing plants and or not opening new ones, then times are not only tough, they’re dire.

What’s your summer rite of passage? Some put the tops down on their convertibles or open up the sun roof on

Jeep Jamboree

their autos and let in the fresh air. Others take their motorcycles out for a spin. For those of us that love four wheeling, it’s time to hit the trail with your friends or family, and one of the best ways to do that is to sign up for one of the 32 events for 2009 sponsored by Jeep Jamboree USA (JJUSA). With locations spread throughout the U.S., this 4WD Jeep adventure-company provides guided tours along some of the best off-road trails in the country, timed for climate and local beauty, with entrance to pristine backcountry areas that are often limited-access, or inaccessible to others.

The Texas Spur Jeep Jamboree’s spring event is timed to capture the splendor in the heart of Texas Hill Country, with cactus and blue bonnets in bloom, as the native live oaks leaf out in shades of lime and emerald, and also to provide a wide variety of wheelin’ that can range from dirt track and sandy, dry wash to moderate-to-nearly-extreme rock climb, in Llano (pronounced LAN-o) County, located two hours north of San Antonio and an hour and a half northwest of Austin. JJUSA’s trained guides are on-hand to instruct attendees, who can range from newbies to expert drivers, with rigs that can range from stock-from-the showroom-floor models to military trucks and home-built rock crawlers-all with a Jeep pedigree.

This yea’s 4^th Annual Texas Spur spring event drew 247 participants, driving 133 Jeeps, and hailing from 15 states to the small city of Llano, located on the banks of the Llano River. (see sidebar: you can still register for the fall trip!) This popular Jamboree, organized by locals Tony and Nancy Winkler who, along with their local trail guides, have dozens of years of 4WD experience and are at-the-ready to dish out true Texas hospitality, was sold out shortly after it was listed online earlier this year.

Go to www.JJUSA.com for a complete listing of events for 2009.

Sue Mead

The Good Year Blimp

Just when you thought four wheeling fell from fanfare, Goodyear’s all new off-road tires challenge their decade-old, iconic predecessor, the Wrangler MT/R (Maximum Traction-Reinforced) and are available in two new game-changing styles.

The brazen and brawny Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar, engineered at Sandai’s labs, was created to tantalize the four million drivers in the radical light truck segment, who are willing to pay more for aftermarket products that guarantee a safe return from the wilds.

Goodyear says these customers are mostly male, under-35, risk takers who are passionate about four wheeling, Jeep expeditions and rock crawling, although the tire maker sees more women wheeling their own rigs.

With sexiness that tantalizes in a Laura-Croft-kind-of-way, and side rubber that recalls the smile of a Great White Shark, this new tire has significantly enhanced toughness. Less neck-snapping in looks, but still bold, the new Wrangler DuraTrac wears enhanced rubber for backcountry toughness, but is also crafted to soothe the sense, with a more tranquil tarmac ride.

DuraTrac’s dominant tread blocks channel a State of Indiana refrigerator magnet and Goodyear has its sights on the 21 million drivers who purchase all-terrain, light truck tires for work in construction, agriculture, landscaping and crave after hours pursuits of camping, hunting and fishing.

Sidewall Toughness-The Wrangler MT/R w/ Kevlar bests it previous generation model by increasing puncture-resistance by 35 percent, thereby greatly reducing the likelihood of sidewall cuts and tears-a veritable Achilles shield.

Sidewall Traction-MT/R w/Kevlar gives greater grip for canyon crawling, mud pits and sand dunes, with improved steering and handling in both wet and dry conditions.

Wraparound Tread-Special sculpting on the Wrangler MT/R w/Kevlar creates the go-juice for motoring and bite, when traversing dry lake beds; driving over loose sand and hard scrabble; and motivating up and over rocks and boulders.

Inventive Tread Design-Wrangler MT/R is comprised of advanced silica rubber that is asymmetrically-shaped for better traction qualities in wet and off-road conditions.

Tractive Groove Technology- Wrangler DuraTrac crafted with a center-line band of grooves that repel muck and snow.

Self-Cleaning Shoulder Blocks-Wrangler DuraTrac’s chunky blocks of –shaped compound are engineered with “mud-flow20geometry”? to improve maneuvering in deep mud and blizzards.

Highly-Angled Center Tread Blocks-Wrangler DuraTrac’s center-band block pattern and rubber compound quiet road noise and increase lateral stability.

Sales Potential-Goodyear projects that full-sized truck sales will remain steady for five years. On sale now, Goodyear will offer the Wrangler MT-R w/Kevlar in 30 sizes; the Wrangler DuraTrac will be available in 26 sizes, covering 89 percent of the targeted vehicle segment.

Sue Mead

Despite what our egos tell us as Americans, when it comes to consumer technology, we’re clearly second to Japan and maybe third to somebody else. Who knows?

As part of the spin, a video of the i-Miev debuted in early June as part of the United Nations World Environment Day.

The video showcases the performance and durability of Mitsubishi’s pure battery electric vehicle – the i-MiEV (Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle) – in a series of tests and in comparison to its Japanese market i gasoline counterpart.

So for those who can’t wait to catch a glimpse of the i-MiEV on the road after it goes on sale in Japan this summer, they can catch the minute-and-a-half video at www.mitsubishicars.com or by clicking here.

It’s clear from the video that emitting zero on-road carbon emissions and using no fossil fuel are not the i-MiEV’s only talents. The small, yet roomy, four-passenger i-MiEV is shown in acceleration and slalom tests side-by-side the turbocharged gas-powered i car on which it is based.

Keys to the i-MiEV’s performance include an ultra-quiet permanent magnet synchronous motor and a powerfully efficient lithium-ion battery pack that can be quick-charged up to 80 percent of capacity in as little as 30 minutes. An onboard charger accepts 110V (12-14 hour full-charge time) or 220V in half that time.

Mitsubishi Motors’ i-MiEV will be the world’s first practical electric vehicle offered by a major automobile manufacturer when fleet sales begin in Japan this summer.

If completed, the deal would save 13,000 jobs at Saturn and it would preserve the customer-focused Saturn brand.

The proposed transaction is part of GM’s rebuilding efforts outlined in the viability plan that was submitted to the U.S. government earlier this year and is now a part of GM reorganization plan submitted to bankruptcy court.

Under the terms in the memorandum of understanding, Penske would obtain the rights to the brand as well as certain other Saturn assets. GM would continue production, on a contract basis, of the Saturn Aura, Vue and Outlook.

The bottom line is that Penske gets a practically all new Saturn product line that is supported by loyal customers and 350 of GM’s best dealers. More than four million Saturns have been sold since 1990.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. But bet the farm that Penske will pay nowhere near the estimated $5 billion that it cost GM to create Saturn.